Why Do Some Dental Marketing Campaigns Lose Money?

There are four reasons campaigns lose money.

1. The Internet marketing campaign was a success and generated a lot of appointment requests, but no one showed up.

If you go through all the steps we lay out, you should expect to generate one or more new patients a month fairly soon.

The bottom line is that if you are getting calls and no one is showing up, your front desk is not handling the inquiries correctly. Statistics show that up to 50% of potential new patients who call the office are lost at the front desk.

This is not the place to teach a course in call handling, but here are a few points that may help – we have provided a CD training course for that.

• Most of the practices we deal with need a minimum of two people at the front. One to make financial arrangements and one to answer the phone and schedule new patients.  Understaffing at the front is one of the primary problems we see. One person cannot make financial arrangements and coach potential new patients into the practice. Why spend thousands of dollars in marketing only to lose tens of thousands in production profit because you are understaffed at the front?

• If the potential patient has to wait more than a week to get into the practice, you have a problem. New patients don’t want to wait. This is usually a scheduling problem. Not enough new patient appointments have been pre-blocked in the daily schedule. Get them in the door now, even if it’s just a quick look-see at the prophy appointment.

• The person at the front does not have the skills, training or aptitude to properly handle new patients. The first two issues, skills and training, can be resolved through education. The third issue, aptitude or attitude - take your pick, cannot be resolved through training ... shoot the turkey!

To better help you understand and solve these dental marketing problems we have developed a video training program for you and your team - How to Create a Front Desk Marketing Machine.

You received this CD with your final IDA membership confirmation letter in the mail. Set aside about one hour with your team. We have had reports of amazing practice growth, just from watching and discussing these videos.

2. You ignore our design advice or don’t promote your local practice website(s) correctly because it's too expensive or you don’t have the time.

You are either pregnant or not. Don't waste your time and money with half measures. Do it right or don't do it at all.

3. You are in a static or declining marketplace.

If there is no growth in your area and it's filled with stable, long-term residents with little housing turnover, you may have a problem. New residents primarily use websites as do people with a specific need, such as Cosmetics, TMJ, Implants, etc. If you are in a no-growth area or one that is actually declining, your Internet marketing campaign may not respond well.

Static or declining markets are long-term economic conditions that may indicate you will have to move if you want to expand your business and meet your personal financial goals. Until you test, you won't know.

4. You are in a rural or demographically impoverished market.

Rural areas generally have low population density. Fewer people mean fewer new patients. However, there are a lot of rich farmers out there and the Internet is their lifeline to the outside world.

If you are in an impoverished market, we strongly suggest your Internet marketing stay focused on primary dental needs: general and family dentistry, dentures, infants and children, sedation, etc. Websites targeted at dental implants, cosmetics and high-end services just are not going to work in an impoverished area.

If you need further assistance, discuss your concerns with your IDA Internet Coordinator.